False cognates, also known as falsos amigosfalse friends, are words that look and/or sound similar in two different languages, but that don’t actually have the same meaning. In other words (no pun intended), they “trick” you into thinking they are true cognates.
Let’s start with what’s most important: making sure you don’t run into any doors when you’re in Portugal… 🚪🏃🏽♂️ puxarto pull Slow audio Play audio Verb empurrarto push Slow audio Play audio Verb
So you pull the doors marked PUXE and you push the doors marked EMPURRE Slow audio Play audio Verb, Singular. Got it? You sure? Good luck!
And while we’re at it… pularto jump
Now that that’s cleared up, we’ll continue listing more falsos amigos, followed by the word for what you thought it was:
** antecipar can sometimes mean to predict, but it’s not the common meaning
** similarly, the verb assistir can also mean to help or aid, but it’s less common
** This isn’t technically a false cognate, since educado by itself can also mean educated or instructed. However, we think this common mistake is worth mentioning.
a aulaclass, lesson, lecturea palestralecture, talk, presentationa liçãolesson
Don’t let them trick you — they’re not your friends! 😈
To lock the true meaning in your memory, let’s practice using false cognates in the lessons to follow…
Comments
For me as a foreigner who even don’t speak English very well and who don’t know the exact meaning of these words in English this is a confusing exercise🤪.
The English subtitles don’t help because I have to translate them too … and in my mother
language German these Portuguese words are no false amigos😆.
It would be great if i could put all these words in my smart review by one click…
Muito obrigada!
Yes the cognates and false cognates lessons are not as helpful for non-native English speakers. Sorry about that! Feel free to skip those units if they are just confusing. Maybe one day we can include lessons on Portuguese-German cognates, as well as other languages. 🙂
It would be brilliant if you could one day make a similar resource for learners who speak Spanish. But thank you very much for this one – well-presented and clear as always.
For me as a foreigner who even don’t speak English very well and who don’t know the exact meaning of these words in English this is a confusing exercise🤪.
The English subtitles don’t help because I have to translate them too … and in my mother
language German these Portuguese words are no false amigos😆.
It would be great if i could put all these words in my smart review by one click…
Muito obrigada!
Yes the cognates and false cognates lessons are not as helpful for non-native English speakers. Sorry about that! Feel free to skip those units if they are just confusing. Maybe one day we can include lessons on Portuguese-German cognates, as well as other languages. 🙂
I just found out that “não custa nada” doesn’t mean it’s free.
It would be brilliant if you could one day make a similar resource for learners who speak Spanish. But thank you very much for this one – well-presented and clear as always.
I had fun with this false friend today:
‘estou constipado’ means ‘I have a cold’. While ‘I am constipated’ translates to ‘tenho obstipação’.
Don’t forget “preservativos”, especially when mixing closely with false friends!
eu vou fingir – this got me